Archive for month: May, 2014

This is the concluding post on our 3 part series on cues to look out for when looking to buy decent quality clothing.

With Respect to Fabric, fabric should hold its shape fairly well, to test for this, grab a handful, bunch together and let loose. Fabrics should be free of lumps, snags or discolourations, Patterns, like stripes and plaid should line up properly especially at the seams. Here are a few more pointers to look out for.

a) Polyester should be strong, breathable, stretchy and not easily wrinkled. It melts at medium to high temperature so should be ironed at warm temperatures.

b) Silk should be soft, breathable, drape well, retain its shape (not easily wrinkled) and have a shimmery luster to it.

a) Good indicators of quality in Cotton fabric are softness, breathability, it should be able to absorb and release moisture and air quickly.

b) Decent quality faux or real leather should feel supple, not look shiny or like its made from plastic, individual parts should be sewn not glued together and thicker is better with leather

a) Denim is made from tightly woven cotton fabric so just like cotton it should feel soft, breathable but should be a lot more durable. A good check for quality denim is the density of the denim, to check for density hold the fabric against light and see how much light comes through. Less light coming through means its dense, and would last longer. Good denim should also feel a little moist and not stiff. Denim is made from thick fabric; hence the seams should be strong and not easily give way. Where possible it should have double or chain stitching.

a) Linen should not feel rough or have an uncomfortable texture. It should also be breathable. Linen tend to wrinkle easily, however decent linen should still look ok after a long day in it.

b) After the preliminary assessments of checking things like the feel of the fabric, the durability of the seams, and how well secured the buttons or fasteners are. It’s a good idea to fit the garment on oneself to be sure that they fit just right. There’s no point spending a lot of money on clothing that doesn’t fit right. The tailoring, of the garment is what usually determines how well it would fit for the most part.

The fit of the same garment can defer from person to person depending on individual shape. Tailoring is where brands go the extra mile to make sure their clothing fit their customers just right and this is a good measure of brand quality. Some of the ways to tell a garment that have good tailoring, is to look out for.

1. Darts in shirts, jackets, blouses and non-stretchy dresses.

2. A seam running down the backs of Jackets and coats3. Dresses and skirts should not ride up, and jackets and suits should hang well on the shoulders and not bunch around the shoulders or sides when hands are raised. If this happens either it’s a wrong fit for you or it’s poorly tailored.

On a final note, always ‘Read Care Instructions’ because no matter how well made a garment is, if not cared for appropriately, it would get damaged and that would not be the manufacturers fault. The care instruction is there for you to read and give some extra mileage to your clothes.

These are just a few of the ways we check for quality, there are a lot more ways of checking for quality. Do share some of your quality assurance secrets with us 🙂 . We hope these pointers would help make you a more informed buyer and give you a more enjoyable buyers experience.

In our previous post, we started a series sharing some cues to look out for when looking to buy decent quality clothing, here’s the continuation.

Below are a few ways to test for quality before buying.

Examine the physical clothing where possible. When Online Buy from brandsthat you trust their quality, and that provide sufficient information to help your buying decision.

Assess the fabric, seams and fastenings first hand; this would give a good indication of how sturdy the clothing is. This can be a tough one in this era where everything is online. Do your research, and buy from brands that have a reputation for good quality that you can trust. At Itfactor, we have done all the hard work, our buyers have been trained to identify quality and buy only from brands we absolutely love and trust.

Seams and Hems – Seams should line up neatly, be strong, should not protrude or cause the clothing to loose its shape. Try pulling seams apart gently, do the threads pull apart? Seams give a good indication of quality because when a garment is properly seamed, it helps retain its shape and structure and consequently makes it more durable. Generally, the closer together the stiches that form the seams the better the quality of the clothing. Hems should be sewn and not left raw, hems should be flat, not rolled or puckered.

The presence of Lining is another good indication of quality. Linings help to give the clothing a better fit and a neater finish. They protect the outer fabric from oils and sweat from skin, which contributes to damage and ageing. They make it easy to put on the clothing by reducing tension and stretch on the clothing and this ultimately increases its lifespan. Some pieces are meant to be sheer hence no lining is required but most clothing need lining, it prevents them from looking flimsy and cheap.

Buttons and Zippers should be sturdy. Buttonholes should have strong sturdy reinforced seams and zippers should move smoothly and lock at the top. Clothing that come with extra buttons, threads, beadings are typically made of better quality and would last longer.

In the next post we would conclude the series, hope you have picked up a thing or two?

One of the most important factors when building a decent quality wardrobe is in the ability to spot or identify decent quality clothing.

In building a decent quality wardrobe, we want clothing that doesn’t just look the part but will also last us through several seasons of washing and wearing.

Obviously, no one piece of clothing can last forever, and those that tend to last for eons of years are over the budget of an average shopper.

So the aim here is to be able to identify clothing that would last through a couple of years of washing and wearing, Clothing that is durable and doesn’t just look pretty on the racks.

How does one identify decent quality clothing?

The next 3 posts would break down some cues to look out for when shopping for decent quality.

Here’s Part 1, of our quick overview of how to identify decent quality clothing.

In General terms, decent quality clothing should be durable, and should last a couple of years. Buttons and seams should be sturdy, neatly fixed and not likely to fray or easily pop. It should maintain its shape and flatter the figure and not distort the silhouette or impede movement.

Lastly the fabric should look like good quality fabric and feel good on the skin.

Now, we appreciate that clothing that tick all the boxes would mostly be high end and quite pricey for the average person.

But there are brands who have found a way not just to make their clothing look pretty to attract buyers but also incorporate some of these qualities into their clothing such that it looks the part and can last several wears and washes.

These brands offer a good mix of great pricing, great designs and decent quality.

In the next post we break down the various cues even further, check here and here for concluding posts.

Most of us are not blessed with a separate closet room where we can have one wardrobe for each category of clothing item. As a result, right when you are dressing up for the Friday night gig or Sunday church, there’s a tendency to struggle with finding what to match your outfit with, since everything is not in full view and you probably do not see the full content of your wardrobe.

For most of us, de-cluttering or getting rid of old stuff is perhaps the most difficult and most important step in the process of reorganizing.

This step of getting things organised doesn’t always leave you having a lot of things, but would leave you with a fab wardrobe comprising only of items carefully chosen and cherished.

Here’s our take on how you can keep your wardrobe looking stylish and organized like a true style diva.

1. Get rid of the old items:

In every closet, there is a range of clothes, accessories and shoes that have hardly been used in years and probably will never be used again. Most fashion lovers keep changing their likes and preferences as trends change, and it is good to get rid of stuff that is out of vogue if you are trend follower or items that you would never wear.

So how do you sort your wardrobe into items you want to Give away / Throw away/ Or Keep?

Here are a few tips to help with this all important stage,

Firstly, Try on every single item in you wardrobe for Fit and wearability and sort them based on the following

a. I may wear this one day –

The rule of thumb here is, If you have not worn this item in the last one year for whatever reason, you are most likely never going to wear it again! This is simply an excuse to just keep loads of space sapping stuff! Most often than none these items should go in the Throw away/ Give away category. Most times we choose not to wear items because they are either worn out, ill fitting, badly tailored or simply doesn’t conform to our current style.

If these items cannot be put to good use again then this is a good time to be a little generous to your sister, friend or give to charity. It will help you get rid of the basic clutter and give you a better idea of your true wardrobe size, content and how it fits to your current style.

b.Can I Mix and Match them well –

Another way to de-clutter your wardrobe is to think of your current style and take a very critical look at the pieces you have left in your wardrobe. Do they fit well into your lifestyle, the Image you try to portray, and can they be easily matched with other items in your wardrobe? With the style and lifestyle question only you can truly answer that, with the mixing and matching, take a piece in your wardrobe If you can successfully match an item with other pieces in your wardrobe to produce five different outfits then it’s a keeper.

c. May Be Someday –

Now if you have carried out the two steps above you will find that there are still items you are on the fence about, may be because you have not worn them in over a year but you really really like them or they were very expensive and you are not ready to let go or maybe they are just a bit tight and you plan to lose some weight.

With these items you can pack them away in a box and store away somewhere outside the wardrobe until you have the need for them, that way you can have more space for the things you wear on a regular basis.

These lot are also keepers but not in the wardrobe. They come out when you think of what to match them with or after they become perfect fit, if after say another year they still do not come out from the box then you probably need to let go of them.

2. Separate the essentials:

After trimming down your wardrobe this is the next step, think of the number of items you have before trying to put things in place. You need to create a separate section for dresses, pants, skirts, lingerie, jewellery and shoes in any wardrobe. Get everything on the bed and make a good numbering from the heap, get each piece properly cleaned and ironed in readiness to be kept in its section

Allot space in your wardrobe to each section based on the number of that group of items you have, like if you have more dresses than any other items then those should have the largest space.

3. Use space saving solutions:

Small items, such as lingerie, accessories, handbags, and jewellery can be kept in small boxes, racks or wicker baskets and stowed in the lower racks of the wardrobe. Try investing in shoe racks to help organize your shoes, that way you have more space in your closet.

There you have it! Our 3 step strategy for keeping your wardrobe like an It Girl!

At Itfactor, we are all about creating inspiring and elevating style. We want to be part of that journey that prepares you to take on the world by providing inspiring products and content that helps you to find the “It’ that puts a smile on your face and a spring in your steps.

On this blog we will be sharing and exploring all aspects of our interest in lifestyle, which will include fashion, food, music and the people behind these aspects. We hope you would be inspired by the content we create and probably share some of your style discoveries with us, Welcome :).